[IP] more on Locked In a Cell: How Cell Phone Early Termination Fees Hurt Consumers
Begin forwarded message:
From: Shawn Selleck <selleck@xxxxxxxx>
Date: October 10, 2005 8:10:24 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Locked In a Cell: How Cell Phone Early
Termination Fees Hurt Consumers
Dave,
My interesting experiences follow . . . .
With my US-based, AT&T-contract served Nokia, I went to Latin America
in 2000 and activated the same phone on a pay-per-call rate of about
10 cents per minute, if I recall correctly. The same phone worked in
two different countries ringing on two different numbers.
In Europe I bought an unlocked phone and did what many IPers surely
are familiar with: pay-as-you-go Vodafone--although I did pay about
50 cents per minute, I had text messages for 10 cents, years before
Americans knew what an SMS was.
After international traveling for a couple of years, and returning to
the US having kept my AT&T contract all this time, I began using my
phone again with the understanding that I had the same terms I signed
up for. Imagine how shocked I was to get a $400 phone bill instead
of $60 my first month home. What happened? Does anyone out there
realize that "free nights and weekends" also EXPIRE at the end of
your contract period? Because I had not locked into a new contract,
my free minutes were taken away, without notice (I "should" have read
the fine print, they said), and all the nights and weekends I had
used were no longer free. Nice reward they give me for sticking with
them even after my contract period ended. After a two-week battle, I
received about $50 back and cancelled my service to go with Verizon.
I chose Verizon because they have service in the North Carolina rural
areas where my parents live--no other provider did. So when my
cousin from Italy came to live with them as an exchange student last
month, I thought Verizon would be the way to go. However he was
insistent that he use his Italian tri-band Nokia. This is where I
got a rude awakening. First of all, no providers provide a pay-as-
you go service that is any less than a monthly service. I checked.
It is at a minimum $1 plus calls if you don't want a contract. So we
relented and he is with Cingular since they allow him to use his tri-
band phone, but he still has a one year contract of which he'll only
use 9 months--and no service at my parents home.
Shawn
--
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